Summary: Draco Malfoy thought he knew everything he needed to know about Hermione Granger. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, but it might well change their destinies.

Disclaimer: Although I won't claim to be wholly certain of anything, to the best of my knowledge, J.K. Rowling, owns Harry Potter & Co., not I.

Mutant

Chapter One

"After him!" one of the boys shouted. There were four of them, all chasing the terrified young wizard. Turning a corner after a block, he pushed his legs to carry him faster and farther still as he looked around in panic for a place to hide. Darting into a small alcove, Tom Marvolo Riddle held his breath as the muggle boys ran past. After several minutes, the shouts faded and he stole a glance at the deserted street.

It had been an honest mistake, really. Walking through muggle London, looking at the interesting shops, he had seen a girl some years younger than him trip over a raised portion of pavement. Not thinking, Tom had whipped out his wand and quietly canted a spell to slow her fall. The girl, stunned, floated to the ground. Too late, he had realized how foolish his action had been. One of the boys across the street was pointing out the girl to his companions and then back to the thirteen-year-old wizarding boy. When the boys kept glancing back at him as they whispered, Tom started walking slowly down the street. After a block or so, he glanced back. They were following him some fifty feet behind. He'd quickened his pace, knowing there would be trouble if he didn't escape. As he'd progressed down the street, the shops seemed grow older and people became sparser. Glancing behind him, he'd confirmed that his pursuers were still following him. He'd walked a half a minute more, bracing himself. He'd begun to run.

Confirming that the coast was clear, Tom took in his surroundings and made his way cautiously back to the secret place where he could return to the odd, but safe, wizarding portion of London.

That evening, Tom sat in Madame Henning's Bookshop flipping through a book. Madame Henning had given him a curious look when he made his inquiry, but searched a bookshelf to the left before pulling out a volume called Exposure and Exploitation: A History of Muggle Mishaps. Settling into a chair near the back wall, he flipped through the book.

"In 708 AD, a group of witches and wizards was found out in a village near Lyons, France during a summer festival. The persons involved were held captive in a wooden room painted over with an anise extract (1). When the party consistently refused to succumb to the greedy and eager wishes of their muggle captors, their skin was cut and the anise extract poured over their wounds, killing them. One of the muggles involved was heard bragging about it some months later in a tavern. A present wizard followed him out that night and killed him, reporting the incident to the wizarding authorities for proper handling of the involved villagers."

"In 327 AD, a remote wizarding village in northern Italy was discovered and its inhabitants taken captive by the Romans. Under the threat and influence of anise extract, the witches and wizards were brought to the Roman Colosseum where they were forced to defend themselves against drugged and violent wild animals while their own powers were mostly inhibited. Despite strong attempts by the local wizarding authorities to rescue the persons involved, only eight villagers were successfully retrieved. Three of these survivors died soon afterwards of anise poisoning. Mass memory modifications were placed on the city of Rome, causing most, if not all, witnesses to forget the status or their human entertainment."

Tom sighed at his great fortune to escape his dangerous situation that afternoon. Standing up, he made his way to the front counter to purchase the book.

Footnotes:
(1) Anise extract is a solution of alcohol and anise (see the Wikipedia article on herbal extracts). For the purposes of my story, the circumstances that bring about wizardry also leave witches and wizards with a violent allergy to anise. Milder allergic reactions usually render the affected person unable to use magic or think clearly, while stronger reactions often result in death.